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A former Hollywood star’s ambitious £13m project to restore a Lancashire stately home tied to his family’s history for over 400 years lie in ruins after he was dumped from the project and locked out of the site.
Hopwood DePree, the actor-turned-restorer, left the glitz of Tinseltown behind in 2017 to embark on an ambitious project: breathing new life into the historic Hopwood Hall in Rochdale.
Over the years, he worked with local volunteers to restore the Grade II listed property, gaining planning permission for a bold transformation that included a 25-bedroom hotel, outdoor cinema, giftshop and heritage trail.
Yet, in a bitter twist, Rochdale Borough Council has refused to renew their agreement, citing a lack of progress, leaving DePree’s dream teetering on the brink.
Born in Holland, Michigan in 1970, DePree moved to Los Angeles where he attended the University of Southern California and in 1995, he produced, directed, wrote and starred in his first role as an actor. He went on to work with stars including Jennifer Connelly and four time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris before he made the move across the pond.
As a child, his grandfather would tell him stories bedtime stories about Hopwood Hall, but he had always dismissed the tales as fiction. However, decades later he discovered it to be a real place, and realised it was still standing just five miles north of Manchester.
Built 600 years ago in 1426, the Grade II listed building has given shelter to a host of famous figures including Guy Fawkes and Lord Byron.
But after the family’s two male heirs were killed in the First World War, Mr DePree’s ancestor’s sold the hall in 1922 to Lancashire Cotton Corporation before Rochdale Council purchased it in the 1990s.
The hall was left empty and over a number of years, fell into disrepair.
But – undeterred by the overgrown grounds and crumbling roof – Mr DePree realised his dream to restore his ancestral home to its former glory and one day hopefully live in it.
After getting in touch with the council, he entered into an exclusivity agreement with them, allowing him to take control of the hall’s refurbishment and purchase the property for a ‘nominal sum’ if he produced a viable business plan.
With the community behind him, seven years of development led by himself and local volunteers has seen the manor and its grounds transform from the once derelict site.
But earlier this year, Mr DePree was left devastated when he found himself locked out the manor, and finding the council had decided to not renew their agreement with him.
He said: “I am absolutely flabbergasted as is the community by the behaviour of Rochdale Borough Council. To say that it is disappointing would be an understatement. The volunteers and locals who have worked so tirelessly are devastated.”
The council say the agreement hinged on Mr DePree’s ability to bring forth a commercially viable business model to secure the “long term future of the hall, alongside a detailed planning permission”, which it says he had not produced.
However, Mr DePree told The Independent that he has “respected and upheld all our obligations,” and even presented a business plan to the council to which he claims he received support for.
He also secured planning permission in 2022 to bring this commercial vision to life, with an outdoor cinema screen, hotel, gift shop, events space and heritage trail all set to be including in his development of the hall.
Local volunteers who have worked on the site for several years also found themselves bewildered as they were also denied access to the site earlier this year.
In response to the council’s decision, thousands signed a petition in support of Mr DePree, demanding that the council allows the current project to continue.
The petition, which has collected over 4,000 signatures, asks the council to allow volunteers and Mr DePree resume their work, which has included input from “many volunteers from the local community, as well as heritage professionals, national and international funders and supporters.”
Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, Councillor Neil Emmott, said: “Hopwood Hall is a local historic asset which means a great deal to the people of Middleton and indeed the wider borough. Something as important as this is about much more than one person, however well-intentioned they may be. Public assets are owned by our residents and we cannot allow them to transfer to a private individual without a great deal of care.
“Mr DePree was asked to meet a number of conditions when we entered into our agreement with him. We would be failing in our duty to protect our historic assets if we didn’t hold Mr DePree to the terms of this agreement.
“We know that many local residents have put their heart and soul into Hopwood Hall’s restoration as volunteers on the project. We’re very clear that we will continue to involve those volunteers and the wider community in any future plans.”
Rochdale Town Council will now carry out a feasibility study to assess how the historic asset can be brought back into use.
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